NEWS

Levain Cup vs Vissel Kobe: Match Review

Teamwork brings victory! Saved shot from Fujimoto, moves us up to the top in Group B!!

The opponent, Kobe has many great players, Kazuma Watanabe, Kim SeungGyo, and Takuya Iwanami. The game seemed challenging. From the kick-off, Cerezo played aggressively against Kobe, being cheered by the home supporters. In the 7th minute, Takaki Fukumitu threatened to their goal. In the 10th minute, Sawaue attempted a goal. In the 11th minute, the opponent’s foul play gave a chance for Cerezo to make an opening goal.
Yusuke Tanaka’s free kick from the left side of Kobe, Yasuki Kimoto latched on to the pass at the far side, and passed it to Kota Fujimoto who was just running in front of the post, and with his right foot volleyed it towards the target.
The ball flew above the goalkeeper’s head into the back of the net. It was an awful finish. No 4, with 14 years-experience, hit the net and is the second oldest player after the today’s skipper, Noriyuki Sakamoto. The score changed the mood of Cerezo and made them more offensive.
Hirota Mizutani, Fukumitu, and Kunimtu Sekiguchi created other chances for additional goals. Midst Kobe’s counter-attack, the defender, Tanaka completely blocked the right side. Kobe could not get through.

Kobe brought on Kotaro Omori in the second half, despite that they were bound to win the title even if the result is a draw. The pressure increased. Cerezo could not find any chance to score a goal. All of a sudden, the Cerezo manager changed the formation and brought Kimoto into the defensive line to make a back 5 formation, expecting to boost the defence. In the 68th minute, 16-year-old, Seco who is born in 2000, was brought on. He is appreciated by the manager,saying “ He is physically strong and has good skills with feet and head ”
In the 73rd minute, Takeru Kishimoto came on to make the front line work. This change clearly made the defence and attack stronger. Three minutes later, Kobe’s midfielder, Masatoshi Miura received a second yellow card due to his foul play for blocking Kishimoto. During the remaining 15 minutes, Cerezo made the most of the opportunity against the 10 men.

Eleven players had focused on the game until the end. Finally Cerezo won a 1-0. Their victory pushed them up to the top in the Group B table with 4 wins, 2 draws and without any defeats.